


Welcome to the Jungle

by CubanCracker62



Series: World Guardian Magnolia [1]
Category: Runescape (Video Games)
Genre: "It's free real estate", Gen, actually I just took the entirety of legends quest and ran away with it, also gujuo appears but he's completely revamped he might as well be an oc, and went to town, maggie gets lost in the wilderness and provokes an angry wolf like a general idiot, so I just looked at it and thought, there's not much canon lore on karamja
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2019-09-18 00:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16984935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CubanCracker62/pseuds/CubanCracker62
Summary: Magnolia is hired by Radimus Erkle to make a map of Kharazi Jungle. She makes some new friends there, but what was supposed to be a simple job quickly evolves into something much bigger when she encounters one of their oldest enemies.





	1. Lying With Dogs

**Author's Note:**

> My first Runescape fic, featuring Magnolia!  
> Honestly I would prefer to show Maggie in comic format just because I imagine her to be super animated, but writing her is still pretty fun. I haven't written and posted proper fic in.... what, over a year? So yeah, I'm thrilled to be putting out a chapter again :>

“So… you want me to make you a map?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes,” Radimus Erkle replied, leaning against a polished oak desk littered with paper and various knicknacks. He and Magnolia stood in his office, a cozy little building separate from the actual Legends’ Guild. Sunlight streamed in through the window behind his desk, a few motes of dust lazily drifting about in the light. It seemed to her like a nice place for some peace and quiet to think, fitting the retired adventurer that she now stood in front of.

“We don’t have any proper maps of the Kharazi Jungle, and we’ve been intending to fix that for some time. From what you’ve told me about yourself so far, and given your connections to the Karamjan continent and knowledge of the region, I believe this is a quest best suited to someone like you.”

“Okay…” she said. “But I don’t know how to make a map.”

“You won’t need to.” He picked up a small stack of papers from his desk and began to flip through them. “You’ll be doing the legwork for us. The main reason we had to postpone the project was because Kharazi is a very remote region, and difficult to navigate. Your job is to collect the data and bring it back here; from there, a proper cartographer can do the rest,” he explained. “Of course, I would appreciate any extra information you find.”

“What kind of extra info, exactly?”

“Well, we’ve received word that there are people that live in the area, but we don’t know much more than that-- as I said, Kharazi is very isolated. Provided they’re friendly, they may be able to help you, since they’ll know far more than any map can tell us. Anything you can tell us about them as well-- what they do, who they are, their history-- would be fantastic.”

Satisfied, he neatly shuffled the stack of papers back together and handed it to her. Magnolia examined the top page, noticing some blank boxes left open to write in. The page had some figures printed on it that she didn’t understand; most of it looked like gibberish.

“Those are what you’ll need to fill out. I’ll have someone teach you how later.”

“Okay,” she said, neatly putting the papers away in her bag.

“You’re absolutely sure you can navigate the region?” he asked. “We’ll pay for basic travel expenses, but you won’t receive any reward if you come back without the data.”

“I used to explore the jungles south of Brimhaven all the time,” she said, waving it off. “Kharazi shouldn’t be too different. How hard can it be?”

 

* * *

 

Magnolia quickly learned that despite her experience, it was _very_ easy to get lost. The Kharazi mountain range was covered in dense rainforest, and Maggie found herself surrounded by vine-choked trees that towered far overhead. To say she was frustrated was an understatement: she had been hiking all day, and at this point was pretty sure she had passed by the same boulder three times now.

A strong gust of wind swept through the trees, making Magnolia shiver. She hadn’t expected it to be this cold. How could she? It never got chilly enough to need a jacket in Karamja. She mentally kicked herself for forgetting about mountain climates.

Maggie recalled stumbling on a camp of foresters at the base of the mountain. _Oh, the Kharazi? Take this bullroarer_ , they said. _The Kharazi are elusive masters of camouflage_ , they said. _We don’t know where you can find them, but old James over there talked to one of ‘em after he used one of those old things._ It wasn’t much to go by, but she supposed it was better than nothing; unless she ran into someone out of sheer luck, she didn’t know where or how to find to any of them otherwise. A pit stop in Shilo didn’t provide much insight either, only that the Kharazi tribe had isolated themselves deep in the mountains for much longer than anyone remembered. Navigating the Kharazi jungles herself was no longer an option, not after she realized she was going in circles, and she refused to go back empty-handed. The advice from the foresters was the only real lead she had.

She took the bullroarer out of her pocket. The clearing she stood in seemed as good a place as any to try out the foresters’ advice. _Here goes nothing,_ she thought, before swinging it around above her head.

_Zwoop, zwoop, zwoop,_ it went. The noise it made didn’t sound much like a roar. Instead, it made a low buzzing noise, one that sounded like a swarm of mildly annoyed hornets.

Magnolia stopped the bullroarer and remained still, listening intently. The familiar sounds of the jungles of Karamja filled her ears: the calls of birds of paradise echoing through the trees, the high-pitched buzz of cicadas that seemed to come from all around. She ignored these and listened for anything out of the ordinary.

A minute passed, then two. Nothing.

“Figures,” she muttered to herself. “Should have known this wouldn’t wor—”

She froze; faint noises came from further up the slope. She pocketed the bullroarer and sprinted through the underbrush to find the source, eager to meet whoever might be around.

_Finally, some good luck,_ she thought.

She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the source of the noise.

_Are you KIDDING ME._

A massive wolf blocked her path. True to her luck, it had already noticed her, and was eyeing her with hostility and a full set of bared teeth.

“Eeeeasy there… no need to freak out...” she said nervously, one hand slowly moving to grab her spear. No sudden movements. She’d faced wolves before, but this one was easily as big as the ones on White Wolf Mountain, and her experience with wolves the size of bears was less than stellar. Given the choice, she would rather face the bear.

The wolf only responded with a deep rumbling growl that slowly grew in intensity.

“N-nice puppy..?”

Magnolia barely had enough time to bring her spear out in front of her before it took a running leap at her. Runite and polished wood was the only thing between her and its jaws as she effectively jammed its mouth open, sinking its teeth into hard metal instead of her head.

However, that didn’t stop its full weight hitting her like a flying brickhouse as they were both sent tumbling down the trail. She came to a stop flat on her back, with the wolf’s jaws still rammed into the shaft of her spear; it thrashed and struggled to gain enough leverage to break away from her improvised defense, but she knew it wouldn’t stay that way for long.

“Get off! Stop! Down! Agh—“

To her surprise, something connected with the side of its head, sending it sprawling sideways off her. She looked up to see a stranger in thick, layered robes, holding up the blunt end of a spear.

He would have looked almost heroic if he didn’t look as panicked as she was.

He turned his weapon, pointing the right end of his spear— no, not a spear. It was a staff. The end charged up with a spell, spraying the wolf with a strong jet of water.

“Back!” he shouted. “Get back, I said!”

Magnolia scrambled to her feet, ready to aid the stranger, but the wolf was already backing off. With a whine it took a few steps back; in that moment, it decided they weren’t worth the effort, and bounded off into the forest.

“Thank you,” she said, still a bit dazed. “You saved my life.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied, still looking in the direction the wolf ran off into. “Seems like he ran off for good. He shouldn’t bother us again.”

“Yeah, especially after you hit it in the face with that spell. Nice bit of spellwork, by the way.”

“Thanks,” he said, puffing up a bit with pride. Now that Magnolia could get a proper look, she noticed he looked a bit younger than she was, and that he had patterns of white dots painted across his face. “But why were you fighting a wolf in the first place?”

She chuckled nervously. “About that…” She reached into her pocket and took out the bullroarer; his expression seemed to sour when she held it out for him to see.

“I’m sorry, but you’re not welcome here.” Gujuo's tone was now as chilly as the air around them.

“Wait, what? Why?”

“I’m certain you know why, forester.” He almost spat the last word.

“I’m not a forester.”

“Then who are you? Why are you here?” His expression was still full of suspicion, but now tinged with curiosity.

“Uh… the name’s Magnolia,” she started tentatively. “I’m an adventurer from Brimhaven. I came here to make a map, but I got a bit... lost,” she admitted. A few seconds passed before he gestured for her to continue. “I met some foresters down at the base of the mountain. They told me to use this so that someone might hear it.” She paused again; the stranger seemed to be mulling her story over.

“Well, you certainly don’t dress like one of them. May I see that?” he asked, holding one hand out to take the bull roarer. She gave it to him; for a minute, she watched him turn it over to examine. Satisfied, he looked back up at her.

Without breaking eye contact, he threw it over his shoulder. It landed in the thick underbrush with a soft rustle.

“Hey!”

“You should never use those out here. There are wolves, and the noise might attract one.”

“... Oh.” Another pause. “And you are…?”

“Gujuo. You’re really not a forester?”

“No. Why does it matter? What did they do?”

He seemed to hesitate for a second, debating whether or not to say anything, then sighed. “They’ve been causing problems. Clearing out too many trees, trespassing on sacred sites. Upsetting the balance of nature. You saw firsthand with that wolf; normally, they don’t attack people without good reason, but lately they’ve been unusually aggressive.”

“That does sound pretty bad when you put it that way,” Magnolia admitted. “But I can’t leave without making that map.”

Gujuo thought for a second. “Maybe we can make a trade.”

“What have you got in mind?”

“I’ll help you navigate and make your map, but first, you have to help me by getting rid of the foresters at the base of the mountains. I won’t let them mess up my home.”

“Your home?” In that moment, realization dawned on Maggie. “You’re from the Kharazi tribe!”

“I… yes?” Confusion flashed on his face. “Why is that important?”

“You guys are ridiculously hard to find, that’s why!”

“Okay…” he said, still not understanding her sudden enthusiasm. “So do we have a deal? You’ll get rid of them?”

“Absolutely,” she said. “I think I have an idea how to do it, but I might need your help to pull it off.”

He shrugged. “As long as it works, I’ll take it.”

“Great,” she said. “I’ll explain on the way down.”

Magnolia turned to head down the mountain, but before she could take another step Gujuo grabbed her sleeve.

“Their camp is that way,” he said, pointing in a direction almost opposite the way she was heading.

“...Right.”


	2. Spring Cleaning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gujuo breaks a rule, and Maggie goes climbing. The two of them encounter a new face.

“When you said you had an idea, I was expecting something more like scaring them off.”

The two of them were stopped in a clearing. Maggie was busy filling out one of the papers Radimus Erkle had given her; Gujuo had taken to sitting idly on a fallen trunk and drawing in the dirt with a stick.

“Well, yeah, I thought about that at first,” she admitted, looking up from the paper. “But after a bit I thought that seemed a bit… uncalled for, I guess? They didn’t seem to mean any harm, anyway. Just trying to make a living, you know?” she explained, recalling the days before she was an adventurer, when she worked as a fisherman with her family. She shook away the thought. No time for reminiscing. “Point is, they’re gone now. That’s what you asked for, isn’t it?”

“I suppose that’s fair,” he admitted. “Even if negotiating took all day.”

“Yeah. Can you believe one of them suggested bargaining for a sandwich?” She giggled at the thought, filing away the paper in her bag. “Finished another one. Let’s move on.”

Gujuo stood up to look around for a minute, thinking.

“Oh! I know where to go next. There’s a spring just up ahead,” he said. He leaned in, a conspiratorial look on his face. “Technically I’m not allowed to go near it, but I’ve never been caught yet.”

“Why? Is it sacred?” asked Maggie.

“Ha! Hardly. Cursed, more like,” he replied. “Or so I’ve been told.”

“Why cursed?”

“Well, the water in it is boiling hot, and practically poison if you drink it. It’s the only spring like it around.”

“Do you believe it?” she asked.

“Believe what?”

“That it’s cursed.”

Gujuo shrugged. “It’s safe as long as you stay clear of the spring itself. It’s... a good spot to be alone with your thoughts,” he admitted. “If that doesn’t clear your head, the smell definitely will,” he added with a chuckle.

“You really know a lot about the place, don’t you?” said Maggie, looking bemused.

“I like to explore.”

They continued their conversation along the trail, soon stopping in another clearing.

“Wait a minute.” Gujuo looked around. “This can’t be right.”

“What is it?”

“The spring. It’s supposed to be right here.”

Magnolia stepped closer for a better look, but the only thing she saw was a sinkhole lined with limestone and sulfur. The sinkhole sloped down into a deep, sunken pit. At the bottom a small pool of water still remained, but the water was muddy and murky, a sickly greenish-brown color. The plants that once grew around the place looked like they were long dead as well. “Doesn’t look like there’s much of it left.”

“It’s supposed to be much bigger. The water came up to there.” Gujuo pointed out a faint water line, where the pool would be at least twice its current size and ten feet deeper. He tentatively leaned in closer. “I don’t feel any heat, either,” he said. “I don’t understand. Why would it be like this?”

“I don’t know, but maybe a closer look will tell us.”

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I’ll only be a second.” Before he could argue, Maggie began to climb down, taking extra care not to slip on the slick rocks. The smell of sulfur was overpowering here, making her nearly gag. 

“If you fall in, I am not fishing you out,” said Gujuo.

“Relaaax, I’ll be fine,” said Maggie. He rolled his eyes in response. 

Once she was down near the water she found herself standing on a wide ledge. Now that she was closer, she could see that there were claw marks in the stone walls surrounding her. Big ones. She crouched and held her hand out over the water, then tentatively poked in a finger. It was cold.

However, that wasn’t even the strangest part. The last thing she expected to find was an old hat.

Claw marks, she could understand. But a hat? It was almost comically out of place. Upon closer inspection, its color was bleached out completely and the waterlogged cloth and leather mostly eaten away, but it was definitely once a hat. A pointy wizard’s hat. She tentatively pinched the tip and lifted it. Sure enough, there was a skull under the hat, probably the same poor sap that once wore it. It obviously hadn’t moved in a very, very long time.

“Eww.” Magnolia wrinkled her nose. A small glint caught her eye, though. A metal pendant, tucked just beneath the skull. She dug it out, trying her hardest to avoid touching the remains directly. _Ew._ After a minute it finally came free. It was rusted with age and the cord was rotted through, but after a quick rinse in the water it was still intact enough to make out a symbol: two curved lines, converging at the center with the ends pointed up like horns. 

Zamorak’s symbol.

“What the hell are you doing down here?” she muttered to herself, glancing at the hat-wearing skull.

“Did you find anything?” said Gujuo. 

“Sort of,” she said. She stood and turned to tell Gujuo, but what she saw made her blood run cold. 

An inhuman figure loomed behind him, ready to strike him from behind. Gujuo hadn’t noticed it yet. Having only a moment to act, she did the only thing she could think of.

“ _Duck!_ ” yelled Maggie, hefting up her spear. His expression turned to confusion, then alarm. 

“Wait, _what are you_ —“ said Gujuo, before ducking to avoid her spear as she hurled it directly at him. It sailed over him and struck the figure in the arm, and it let out a piercing shriek. 

At that Gujuo turned around, seeing it stumble back a step. Thinking quickly, he ran to the side, out of sight. The figure hissed, grabbing her spear and tossing it aside before following him. Her spear clattered down into the sinkhole, landing near her. 

She took it and slung it over her back. No time to waste. Maggie climbed as quickly as she could, swearing every time she slipped. _Damn mud_. She could hear the sound of water spells being cast above, punctuated with angry screeching. At last she climbed out, taking in the scene.

Before her stood a demon. An Avernic, she vaguely remembered. Maggie had seen a few in the past, but none of them looked like this; this one was pitch black, and looked pissed off beyond the point of all reason. It towered over both of them, sporting wickedly sharp horns and claws. 

However, this particular demon also looked rather worse for wear. One of its wings was mangled badly, and its breathing was labored, as if it had been in a fight.

It took no notice of Maggie; instead, it was focused on Gujuo, having managed to corner him in front of a boulder. It tried to approach him, but Gujuo pointed his staff at it as a clear warning to not come any closer, terror clear on his face. The gesture only seemed to surprise it, but its surprise was quickly replaced by anger. For the first time it spoke, its voice harsh and guttural and dripping with pure malice.

“ _Vacu,_ ” it said.

“...What?” said Gujuo.

“ _Tenes et virgam de Vacu,_ ” it said, raising its voice. It took a few steps toward Gujuo, raising a clawed hand to strike.

Magnolia acted faster; she picked up a nearby rock and hurled it, hitting her mark squarely in the back of its head. The demon whirled around with a snarl, holding a clawed hand to its head.

Gujuo, seeing an opening, held up his staff: A blast of water sprayed from the end and hit it squarely in the face, strong enough to knock it off balance and blind it for a moment.  

“Run!”

She didn’t need to be told twice. They ran as fast as their legs could carry them; both of them could hear the demon screaming profanities as it gave chase.

“ _Proditor! Ignava!_ ” it roared, its voice echoing behind them.

“What is that?” said Gujuo.

“A demon. A really angry one, from the sound of it,” said Maggie.

Gujuo looked around, then pulled her toward a rocky outcrop just off the trail. The roots of a dead tree intertwined itself between the large rocks, further providing shelter to hide in.

“In here. Quickly!”

They both crawled into the cramped space and waited, silently praying for this to work.

The sound of heavy footsteps grew closer, then stopped. 

It muttered something under its breath. Maggie flashed him a questioning look. Gujuo only shrugged slightly. Neither of them understood a word it said.

After what felt like ages, they heard more heavy footsteps, but this time getting softer: it was leaving. Eventually the sound faded away entirely. They let another minute pass just to be sure. Nothing. Maggie tentatively poked her head out to check. Still nothing. 

“I think he’s gone,” Magnolia whispered. “Are you alright?”

“No,” he said, clearly shaken. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

“So you don’t have any idea why it might be here?”

“Of course not! Why would I?”

“Sorry.”

Gujuo appeared to be deep in thought, processing everything that just happened.

“First the spring, now this,” he said. “Something’s not right.”

“Then let’s get to the bottom of it,” said Maggie.

“Agreed,” he said, climbing out of the shelter. “I’ll take you to my village. I know someone who might be able to help, but...” He groaned. “Unadulu is not going to like this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fic Patch Notes:  
> -Gujuo should now be using the correct element of magic in ch1 (water instead of fire)  
> -Ungadulu's name has been edited to Unadulu for this fic  
> -implemented the minor formatting edits y'all suggested, thank you for the feedback :>
> 
> A word to the wise: Google translate sucks at Infernal, I had to cross reference off of at least three different websites to patch together three lines of dialogue
> 
> Ok but for real I'm excited guys, we're finally kicking off the real storyline in this chapter  
> Buckle up guys, a lot's changed for this rewrite


End file.
